Pac-Man World Rally
Pac-Man World Rally, known in Europe as Pac-Man Rally, is a kart racing game in the Pac-Man series. It is developed by Bandai Namco Games, and released in August 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft Windows. An Xbox version of the game was cancelled, though a preview of the game can be found in the Xbox release of Pac-Man World 3. A follow-up racing game, Pac-Man Kart Rally, was released for iOS in 2010 and Android in 2012. Gameplay Pac-Man World Rally features similar gameplay to other kart racing games such as Mario Kart. Up to four players can compete in standard racing across fifteen race tracks. During races, players can use power-ups to attack opponents or gain a boost of speed. By driving over a fruit button, that fruit will appear on the race track; players who collect a fruit will gain access to specific shortcuts on the track, giving them the opportunity to overtake their opponents. Players can also collect pac-dots scattered along the track to fill their Pac-Meter. When it is full, the player can activate a temporary transformation into the Pac-Mobile, a vehicle that gives them a boost of speed and allows them to eat and temporarily incapacitate other racers. The game also features a battle mode with four different arenas for competition. Players can choose from fourteen different playable characters from the Pac-Man franchise and other Bandai Namco titles. The PSP version features two exclusive characters, Mappy and Mr. Driller, along with an additional race track based on Dig Dug. What makes this game unique are the Pac-Man mechanics applied in the game. The player can collect Pac-Dots (the yellow button needs to be triggered first) to fill up their Pac-Meter; if it's full, the player will turn into a Pac-Mobile, and can eat their opponents for a limited amount of time (much like the Power Pellet's effect in the original Pac-Man). The player can also collect fruits (the corresponding fruit button needs to be triggered first) in order to access shortcuts, making the race easier. As with most kart racers, many power-ups appear within the game, which are gained by running into Pac-Boxes. Most of them are blatant copies of Mario Kart power-ups. They include: * Green Pac-Bomb - Can hit other racers when aimed properly. Same function as the Green Shell from Mario Kart. * Red Pac-Bomb - Will follow the racer in the place above the player's, and attack them. Same function as the Red Shell from Mario Kart. * Blue Pac-Bomb - Attacks the player in 1st place. Same function as the Blue Shell from Mario Kart. * Pac-Dora Box - A fake Pac-Box that stuns racers. Same function as the Fake Item Box from Mario Kart. * Atomic Pellet - Gives the racer a boost of speed. Similar (but not identical) to the Mushrooms in Mario Kart. * Snowman - The Snowman will throw snowballs at nearby racers, causing them to spin out when hit. If they are hit by a snowball, the player will freeze. * Storm Cloud - Makes drivers ahead of the user slippery for a few moments. There are also several unlockable power-ups, which include: * Black Pac-Bomb - Unlocked by eating 6 Ghosts in Cherry Cup. Works just like the Green Pac-Bomb except that it has a large explosion radius when it hits a racer. * Siria the Ice Dragon - Unlocked by eating 8 Ghosts in Grape Cup. * Sir Pac-a-Lot - Unlocked by eating 10 Ghosts in Watermelon Cup. * Galaga Ship - Unlocked by eating 12 Ghosts in Classic Cup. In GP mode, you race in a Cup which consists of 3-4 tracks each. Depending on the position you gained after each race, you'll get points. The racer with the highest points wins the gold Cup. Characters Each character has a different race car with different stats: speed, acceleration, and steering. * (L) = Light Weight. * (M) = Medium Weight. * (H) = Heavy Weight. * ** = Is exclusive to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version. Tracks ** = Is exclusive to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version. Battle Mode In Battle Mode, instead of using the ordinary power-ups, the player uses weapon-like items based on the fruits from the original Pac-Man (i.e. a strawberry rocket, a cherry bomb, etc.), which have limited amount of ammo and various damaging powers. The objective in the Battle Mode varies depending on the game mode the player chooses: *'Deathmatch' - The first to reach the number of hits set wins. *'Free-For-Fall' - The player with the most hits within the time limit wins. *'Last Kart Driving' - The last player standing wins. *'Binge' - The player with the most fruit within the time limit wins. *'Classic' - The player with the most Pac-Dots within 1-3 rounds wins. Battle Arenas * Molten Mountain (battle course) * Ghost Mansion (battle course) * Canyon Crusade (battle course) * Arctic Iceburg (battle course)** * Spooky's Castle (battle course)** * Galactic Outpost (battle course) ** Is exclusive to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version. Battle Power-Ups * Banana Ram * Blueberry Blaster * Cherry Bombs * Grape Grenades * Pac-Dot Gun * Sonic Bell * Strawberry Striker * Watermelon Seed Spitter Challenges A mode exclusive to the PSP version. There, the player can select from one of three modes: * Time Trials - Complete the track as fast as possible. There are no opponents or obstacles * Letter Hunt - The player must collect the 6 letters that spell Pac-Man. The mode is similar to collecting the P-A-C-M-A-N letters in Pac-Man World. * Clockbuster - The player must collect as many Pac-Dots as they can before the timer runs out; clocks can be collected to increase time. Home Ports * GameCube * PlayStation 2 * PlayStation Portable * Windows PC All versions came out on the same day. While the PSP version has much more content than the others, it is debatable whether it is the superior port, as less opponents appear in each race. Trivia *The game is called Pac-Man Rally in Europe. *Even though the track Subterran Speedway is exclusive to the PSP version, it appears in the intro for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions. *The mobile game Pac-Man Kart Rally may have been intended to be a sequel to this game. *Pac-Man World Rally finally reversed the Clyde and Blinky error, which was set forth in the mid-1990s. Reception The game received mixed reviews on all consoles according to review aggregator Review aggregator Metacritic. IGN gave the GameCube version a rating of 5.7 out of 10. Category:Games Related To Katamari Category:Crossover Games Category:Game